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“I’d say your place sounds perfect,” he said, his low voice vibrating across her skin, making her nipples pull tight inside her bra. “But I’d rather skip the shot.”
“Backing out of the challenge?” Mia braced her hands on the bench as she leaned closer, bringing her lips within inches of his.
“I’d just rather be sober,” he said, heat in his gaze. “If I’m lucky enough to get you out of those clothes, I want to remember every second of it.”
Mia’s tongue slipped out to dampen her lips. “You have a way with words, cowboy.”
“I also have a way with my hands.” The words didn’t come out sounding like a line. They sounded like a statement of fact, a promise Mia wanted him to keep.
Without another word, she took his hand, and started across the market, bypassing the dance floor, aiming them both toward her apartment, where they could finally be alone.
CHAPTERTEN
Sawyer heldMia’s hand as they left the sights and smells of the Farmer’s Market behind. They strolled along the sidewalk toward her shop, fingers tangled together, taking their time, as if they both wanted to draw out the moments before they reached her place. Sawyer knew he did. It had been a long time since he’d wanted a woman as much as he wanted Mia, and prolonging the anticipation was only going to make satisfaction that much sweeter.
He brushed his thumb across the back of her hand, marveling at how soft her skin was, knowing the rest of her was going to be every bit as soft. He couldn’t wait to explore every inch of her. He wanted to blow her mind, worship at her altar, and make her feel so good she couldn’t remember a single reason to feel bad. He always did his best to satisfy his lovers, but with Mia he wanted to give her more than pleasure or release. He wanted to give her a taste of oblivion, to make her come so hard she forgot not only the stress of the day, but the misery that had sent her running back to Lonesome Point in the first place.
Bubba hadn’t been forthcoming about Mia’s ex—he’d simply said that a bad breakup had led to her leaving Los Angeles after getting her master’s degree—but Sawyer could read between the lines. Bubba’s story, combined with the way Mia had run from their kiss, was enough to confirm Sawyer’s suspicion that someone had hurt her.
Some fucking bastard who didn’t deserve to be walking the same earth as the woman beside him.
Sawyer had only known Mia five days, but he already knew that she was a sincere, honest, fun-loving woman who was devoted to her family and would do anything for a friend. She was something special, one of those people who illuminated the world around them.
But Sawyer knew that bad people didn’t care how many lights they snuffed out on their way to getting what they wanted.
The thought made him think of Sarah. Even after all these years, he’d never forgotten his sister’s bright green eyes, her infectious laugh, or the way her hugs always made a bad day better. Sarah had been the brightest light in his universe, the only person he could count on after their mother died, and their father started spending all his free time with his club. Sarah had practically raised him. She’d stayed home from school to take care of him when he was sick, read comic books aloud to him for hours after their crappy excuse for a television exploded, and let him curl up in bed with her when he was scared of the dark—which was almost every night.
Sawyer had grown into a man as tough as anything lurking in the shadows, but he’d been a typical eight-year-old kid. The kind who preferred to sleep with the closet light on, and who ran to hide in the woods behind the house when his dad’s loud, scary friends came to visit. Sarah was the only one who had made him feel safe, and she had been as innocent and good as any person Sawyer had met, before or since.
But his father’s enemies hadn’t hesitated to snuff her out, taking her life before she’d had a chance to grow up to become the amazing woman Sawyer knew she would have been.
His sister had fallen prey to people who couldn’t appreciate the light one beautiful soul could bring to the world, but Mia had escaped from her dangerous situation. She’d made it back to Lonesome Point, where people who loved her were devoted to helping her heal. He was grateful for that, and determined not to bring any more pain into her life.
He paused at the base of the steps leading up to the shop, hanging back when Mia opened the door and started inside.
When she realized he wasn’t beside her, she turned to face him, crossing her arms as she leaned against the doorframe. “Something wrong?”
He searched her face in the glow of the moon, the soft light making her look even sexier than she had in the yellow bulbs strung above the farmer’s market. “I really like you. A lot.”
“I like you, too,” she said, her full lips curving at the edges.
“But I meant what I said before, about not being ready for anything serious.” The words tried to stick in his throat, but Sawyer forced them out. He owed Mia honesty, and he wanted to make damned sure they were on the same page before things went any further. “I want to make sure that’s still okay. I wouldn’t ever want to hurt you.”
Her smiled faded, but her eyes remained soft, unguarded. “You won’t hurt me.” She ambled down the stairs, stopping on the stair above his, putting them face-to-face and their lips inches apart. “I’m fine with a night, or a week, or the summer…however long feels right. And when it stops feeling right, we go our separate ways, no anger, no regrets.” She lifted her arms, twining them around his neck, sending arousal surging through his body. “This is exactly what I need, Sawyer.Youare what I need, and I can’t wait to touch you. Everywhere.”
Any hope of resisting vanished as that last word feathered between her tempting lips. Sawyer closed the distance between them, claiming her mouth as his arm wrapped tight around her waist, crushing her body to his. Her breasts flattened against his chest and her body heat caressed him, making his pulse spike and a moan sound low in his throat. He wanted this woman—badly. And he was past ready for them to be alone in a room with a bed, a door, and a lock to keep the rest of the world out.
Sawyer lifted Mia off her feet, carrying her through the shop entrance before kicking the door shut behind them.
“Up the stairs,” she whispered against his mouth. “Bedroom’s up there.”
“You taste fucking amazing.” He hitched her thighs around his waist and took the stairs two at a time. “How can you taste this good after tequila and tacos?”
“How can you lift me like I weigh ten pounds?” she asked, breath rushing out as his fingers dug into the strong muscles of her ass. “God, I love your hands. I couldn’t stop staring at them today.”
“I love your ass,” he said. “And your legs, and your shoulders in that tank top, and the freckles on your nose. I’m a fan of every inch of you.”
“The feeling’s mutual,” she said, thighs tightening around his hips. “Right here. Blue door.”
